Plaster board applier



y 9, 1955 F. E. GREENE 2,713,520

PLASTER BOARD APPLIER Filed May 21, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I8 I of M" M /9 llllllllll Z3 4 INVENTOR Fred E. Greene BY Wax,

ATTORNEY July 19, 1955 F. E. GREENE 2,713,520

PLASTER BOARD APPLIER Filed May 21, 1952 3 SheetsSheet 2 /20 2 {/9 /Z/ K20 /6 l W I: ml l I I I 4 I INVENTOR Fred 5. Greene ATTORNEY July 19, 1955 Filed May 21, 1952 F. E. GREENE PLASTER BOARD APPLIER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fred E. Greer/e ATTDRN E\ United States Patent PLASTER BOARD APPLIER Fred E. Greene, Coloma, Califi, assignor of one-half to Cora S. Greene, Coloma, Calif.

Application May 21, 1952, Serial No. 289,037

Claims. (Cl. 304-29) This invention relates to a material handling mechanism, and more particularly to a mechanism for handling and lifting plaster boards.

The object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for supporting and lifting material such as plaster board, the plaster board adapted to be lifted to the ceiling of a house or other building whereby the plaster board can be readily nailed or otherwise secured in place.

Another object of the invention is to provide 'a plaster board applying mechanism which is supported by a plurality of caster wheels, so that it can be readily moved around to any desired location, the mechanism of'the pres ent inventionincluding a horizontally disposed platform which can be raised and lowered by means of a manually operable crank.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a plaster board applying mechanism which will facilitate the raising and securing in place of material such as plaster board, the mechanism of the present invention being mobile, and including a manually operable crank and'linkage for raising and lowering the material holding platform, and wherein the platform will remain immobilein its various adjusted positions.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a plaster board applying mechanism which can be used for fastening plaster boards or other material to ceilings or other overhead locations, there being a gear means operatively connecting a manually operable crankshaft to a linkage mechanism, through a cable and drum arrangement whereby the material being handled can be lifted to any desired elevation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plaster board applying mechanism which is extremely simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming 'a part of this application, and in which likenumerals are used to designate like parts throughout the same:

Figure l is a side elevational view showing the position of the parts when the platform is in partially raised position.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the parts in lowered position, and taken on the line 22 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the mechanism of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is an end elevational view of the mechanism looking toward the crank.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 8-3 of Figure 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral 10 2,113,520 Patented July 19, 1955 designates a housing or frame which may be fabricated of any suitable material such as metal, and the housing 10 includes a pair of horizontally disposed spaced parallel rails 11 which are preferably L-shaped in cross section. Extending upwardly from the ends of the rails 11 are vertically disposed spaced parallel braces 12, and secured to the upper ends of the braces 12 are L-shaped horizontally disposed beams 14. Suitable horizontally disposed L-shaped tie rods 15 extend between the beams 14 and are secured thereto in any suitable manner, as for example by welding.

The present invention is adapted to be used for han dling and lifting material such as plaster board 17, Fig ure 1. Thus, by means of the mechanism of the present invention the plaster board 17 can be readily lifted to the ceiling of the house or other building being worked on so that working men can readily nail or otherwise fasten the plaster board 17 to the ceiling. The housing 10 is mounted on a plurality of caster wheels 16 so that it can be readily moved to any desired location. The numeral 18, in Figure 1, indicates a portion of the ceiling to which the plaster board 17 is to be lifted and secured, and the plaster board 17 or other material is supported on a horizontally disposed vertically adjustable platform 19.

A means is provided for connecting the platform 19 to the housing 10, and this means embodies a plurality of vertically disposed arms 20 which each have their upper end secured to the platform 19. A crank arm 21 is pivotally connected to the lower end of each of the arms 20 by means of a securing element such as a pin 22. There are altogether four of the crank arms 21, and the crank arms 21 are arranged in opposed pairs. Extending between the inner ends of each pair of crank arms 21 and secured thereto is a horizontally disposed rod 23, or crank shaft. Encompassing each of the rods '23 is a tube 56 from which extends a pair of spaced parallel movable links 24, the mechanism of the present invention including four of the links 24, the ends of the shaft 25 being secured to the outer ends of the links 24 so as to rotate in 1 unison therewith. A horizontally disposed shaft 25 extends between each pair of links 24. As shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, a bracket 26 is arranged adjacent each end of the housing 10 and a support member 28 is secured to the bracket 26 by means of bolt and nut assemblies 27. The shafts 25 are rotatably supported in the corresponding support members 28.

A manually operable means is provided for raising and lowering the platform 19, and this means comprises a horizontally disposed plate 29 which extends between the pair of rails 11 and is secured thereto. Supported on the plate 29 and secured thereto in any suitable manner, as for example by rivets 39, is a casing 30. Rotatably supported by the casing 30 is a transverse horizontally disposed stub shaft 31 which has an idler wheel or guide pulley 32 mounted on an end thereof for a purpose to be later described. Arranged in spaced parallel relation with respect to the stub shaft 31 and supported by the casing 30 is a driven shaft 33 which has a gear 34 mounted thereon. A pulley or wheel 35 is secured to one end of the driven shaft 33. Extending longitudinally through the housing 10 for a portion of its length is a drive shaft 36 which extends into the casing 30, there being a worm gear 37a mounted on the drive shaft 36, and the worm gear 37a is arranged in meshing engagement with the gear 34. A crank 37 is secured to the outer end of the drive shaft 36, and a handle 38 extends from the member 37. Thus, in use the person operating the'mechanism grips the handle 38 and rotates the drive shaft 36 and this in turn causes rotation of the driven shaft 33 to thereby raise or lower the platform 19 as later described in this application. Thus, by

raising and lowering the platform 19 the plaster board 17 can be lifted to the desired location, as for example to a ceiling to which it is to be attached.

Mounted on each of the shafts 25 is a flanged wheel 40, there being a hole or opening 41 in each of the flanged wheels 40 for the projection therethrough of a portion of a flexible cable 42. The hole 41 causes the cable 42 to become secured or locked to each of the flanged wheels 40 so that movement of the cable 42 causes rotation of the flanged wheel 40. There are provided two of the flanged wheels 40, one for each of the shafts 25.

The cable 42 is endless or continuous, and a means is provided for adjusting the length of the cable 42 so that the tension thereof can be regulated or controlled as desired. For adjusting the length or tension of the cable 42, a plurality of adjusting members 43 are provided, and each of the adjusting members 43 includes a tube 44 which has one end connected to a portion of the cable 42. A threaded stem 45 is arranged in threaded engagement with each of the tubes 44, and the stems 45 are secured to portions of the cable 42. Thus, by manually rotating the stems 45, the stems 45 can be moved into or out of the tubes 44 so that the length or tension of the cable 42 can be regulated as desired.

Each of the flanged wheels 40 is provided with an annular collar 46 which surrounds a portion of the shaft 25, and a key 47, Figure 7, serves to connect the shaft 25 to the collar 46. Thus, the shaft 25 and flanged wheel 40 rotate together. It is to be noted that the cable 42 is trained over each of the pair of flanged wheels 40 and is also trained over the guide pulley 32. Furthermore, the cable 42 is trained over the pulley 35 and secured to the pulley 35 in any suitable manner, as for example by welding at 48, Figure 5. As most clearly appears in Figure 1, the left-hand cable portions are crossed in leading from the left-hand flanged wheel 40 to the pulley 35 and to the idler wheel 32; and, as a consequence, each of the wheels 40 is caused to rotate an equal amount but in an opposite direction as the cable 42 is moved.

Arranged in spaced parallel relation with respect to each of the flanged wheels 40 is an annular disc 49, there being one of the discs 49 secured, as by welding, to one end of each of the support members 28. The disc 49 is provided with a pair of spaced openings 50 through which projects a flexible cable 51 that is endless or continuous. An annular collar 52 is secured to the shaft 25 by means of a key 53 and both the collar 52 and the shaft 25 are secured to the adjacent one of the links 24. A plurality of adjusting members 54 may be arranged in each of the cables 51 for regulating the tension or length of the cables 51, and the adjusting members 54 may have the same construction as the previously described adjusting members 43. The cables 51 are also trained over sleeves 55 which are mounted on the rods 23, and which rotate in unison with the rods 23. The ends of the tube 56 as heretofore explained may be secured in any suitable manner, as for example by welding, to the inner ends of the links 24, the tube 56 encompassing the rod 23.

In use, the mechanism of the present invention is positioned at the desired location, the caster wheels 16 enabling the device to be readily moved as desired. Then, the plaster board 17 or other material is arranged on the platform 19. Next, to raise the plaster board 17 to the ceiling 18, the handle 38 is manually rotated to thereby rotate the shaft 36. This in turn causes rotation of the shaft 33 and pulley 35 so that the cable 42 will be moved. The cable 42 is trained over and connected to the wheels 40 so that as the cable 42 moves, the wheels 40 will rotate in equal and opposite directions to thereby cause corresponding rotation of the shafts 25, and this in turn will cause upward pivotal movement of the links 24 and a corresponding upward swinging of the tubes 56, the enclosed rods or crank shafts 23 and the sleeves 55. As appears most clearly in Figures 4 and 8, and re ferring t0 the left-hand portion of Figure 4, as the sleeve 55 is swung upwardly, the upper and lower runs of the cable 51 (the cable being secured to the immobile disc 49) are correspondingly rotated upwardly. As the lower run of the cable 51 swings upwardly in a counter-clockwise direction, more and more of the cable lower run is placed into contact with the lower and right-hand periphery of the fixed disc 49; concurrently, as the sleeve 55 swings upwardly, more and more of the cable upper run is pulled off the upper and left-hand periphery of the fixed disc 49.

Under the principles of analytical geometry, any given point on the upper cable run traces a curve known as the involute of a circle, the cable being taut and being unwound from the circumference of a fixed circle having the radius of the disc 49. As unwinding proceeds, the given point moves farther and farther from the center of the circle or disc 49. In a comparable but oppositely disposed fashion, any given point on the lower cable run moves closer and closer to the wheel. But since the cable runs are constrained to swing with the sleeve 55 at a fixed radial distance from the wheel center, the tendencies of the upper run to become slack and the lower run to become taut are balanced or equalized by the rotation of the sleeve 55.

In effect, therefore, the lower run of the cable can be considered to move in a direction away from the sleeve 55, as counter-clockwise rotation of the link 24 takes place, and the upper run of the cable moves in a direction toward the sleeve 55. Since the cable 51 is reeved about the sleeve 55 and attached at one point thereto, the equal and reverse motion of the cable runs effects a clockwise rotation of the sleeve 55 and a corresponding clockwise rotation of the crankshaft 23. Since the crankshaft 23, in turn, is secured to the crank arms 21, the crank arms 21 are rotated in a clockwise direction about the shaft 23 as a pivot. Thus, while the shaft 23 is being swung upwardly in a counter-clockwise direction, carrying with it the crank arms 21, the crank arms themselves are un' dergoing an upwardly swinging clockwise motion, the resultant direction and magnitude of translation of the pins 22 being a function of the ratio of the lengths of the link 24 to the crank arm 21 (the ratio being substantially l/ l) and the ratio of the diameters of the disc 49 to the sleeve 55. By appropriate proportioning of the diameters of the fixed disc 49 and the rotatable sleeve 55 (a ratio, for example, of 9.915 to 4.794) the pin 22 and the vertically disposed arms 20 will translate upwardly and downwardly in a vertical direction. The same linkage mechanism is utilized in substantially mirror symmetry, on the right-hand side of Figure 4. It is to be understood that to effect the desired motion, the cable need not necessarily trace the curve of an involute of a circle; in other words, the disc 49 can be of any appropriate geometrical shape, the other variables being then adjusted to give the pin 22 the preferred vertically upward and downward translation. Thus, the parts will move from the position shown in Figure 2 to the position shown in Figure 1 whereby the plaster board 17 will be elevated to the ceiling. With the plaster board raised to the ceiling, it can be readily nailed or otherwise fastened as desired. Thus, a person may stand on a step-ladder adjacent the device of the present invention and hammer suitable nails or other securing elements through the plaster board and into the ceiling. To lower the mechanism, as when an additional plaster board is to be raised, the handle 38 is rotated in the opposite direction whereby the parts will be moved from the position shown in Figure 1 to the position shown in Figure 2.

By means of the present invention, plaster board or other material can be fastened to a ceiling or other overhead location, so that the material will be rigidly held in place while being secured.

I claim:

1. A material handling apparatus comprising: a frame; a support member on said frame; a first shaft rotatably mounted in said support member; a wheel on one end of said first shaft; a link on said shaft projecting away therefrom; a tube on said link and spaced from said shaft; means for rotating said wheel, said first shaft, said link and said tube in a predetermined direction of rotation; a second shaft rotatably mounted in said tube; a sleeve on one end of said second shaft; a crank arm secured at one end to said second shaft, said one end of said crank arm, said sleeve and said second shaft being swingable in unison with said tube in said predetermined direction of rotation; a disc afiixed to said support member; an endless cable reeved about said sleeve and secured to said disc whereby motion of said sleeve in said predetermined direction of rotation elfects a predetermined opposite direction of rotation of said sleeve, said second shaft and said crank arm, said disc and said sleeve, and said link and said crank arm having predetermined ratios of magnitude whereby the other end of said crank arm is caused to translate in a vertical direction; and a vertically disposed arm pivotally mounted on said other end of said crank arm.

2. A material handling apparatus comprising: a frame; a support member on said frame; a disc secured to one end of said support member; a first shaft rotatably mounted in said support member and extending outwardly beyond each end thereof; a wheel on one end of said first shaft; a pair of parallel links mounted at one end on the ends of said first shaft; a tube mounted at the other end of said pair of parallel links and extending therebetween; a second shaft rotatably supported in said tube and projecting outwardly beyond each end thereof; a sleeve mounted on one end of said second shaft; a pair of parallel crank arms mounted on the ends of said second shaft; a pair of parallel vertical arms pivotally mounted at one end to said crank arms; means for rotating said wheel whereby said sleeve is angularly moved in a first direction in relation to said disc; and an endless cable connecting said disc and said sleeve whereby the relative motion between said sleeve and said disc in said first direction effects an oppositely disposed direction of rotation of said sleeve.

3. A material handling apparatus comprising an elongated housing, a pair of transverse support members mounted at opposite inner ends of said housing, a first pair of shafts rotatably supported in said support members and extending outwardly therefrom, a pair of flanged wheels secured at one end of each of said first pair of shafts, a first pair of endless cables reeved about said flanged wheels, means for translating said first pair of cables whereby said pair of flanged wheels are rotated in opposite directions, a pair of links secured to the ends of each of said first pair of shafts, a pair of tubes transversely mounted between the ends of the corresponding pair of links, a second pair of shafts rotatably disposed in said tubes, each of said second pair of shafts extending beyond said tubes, a pair of crank arms mounted on the ends of each of said second pair of shafts, a pair of sleeves on corresponding ends of said second pair of shafts, a pair of discs secured on corresponding ends of said support members, a second pair of endless cables each reeved about one of said discs and said sleeves and secured thereto whereby revolution of said sleeve about said disc effects a rotation in the opposite direction of said sleeve about its own axis, a pair of vertical arms pivotally mounted on each of said pairs of crank arms, each of said pairs of crank arms and said links, and

each of said discs and said sleeves having a predetermined dimensional magnitude whereby rotation of each of said first pair of shafts and of said second pair of shafts eifects vertical translation of said pairs of vertical arms, and a horizontal platform supported on said pairs of vertical arms.

4. A material handling apparatus comprising a housing, a first shaft rotatably mounted on said housing, a pair of spaced links secured at one end to the ends of said first shaft, a tube mounted on said links and extending between the other ends thereof, means for rotating said first shaft in a predetermined direction and magnitude of rotation, a second shaft rotatably supported in said tube, a pair of spaced crank arms secured at one end to the ends of said second shaft, an arcuate-shaped member mounted on said housing, a sleeve secured to said second shaft, and a cable reeved about said sleeve and said arcuate-shaped member whereby the revolution of said sleeve about said arcuate-shaped member efiects a shortening of one run of said cable and a lengthening of the other run thereof with respect to said sleeve and whereby said sleeve is rotated by said cable about its own axis in a direction opposed to the direction of revolution of said sleeve about said arcuate-shaped member, said sleeve and said arcuate-shaped member each having a predetermined diameter whereby the other end of each of said pair of crank arms translates in a straight line.

5. A material handling apparatus comprising an elongated housing; a first pair of transverse shafts mounted on opposite ends of said housing; a pair of flanged driven wheels on said first pair of shafts; a flanged driving wheel mounted for rotation on said housing; means for rotating said driving wheel; an idler wheel; an endless cable reeved about said flanged wheels and passing through an aperture in the flanges thereon, said endless cable also being reeved about said idler wheel whereby rotation of said driving wheel effects rotation of said pair of driven wheels through equal arcs and in opposite directions; a pair of links mounted on the ends of each of said first pair of shafts; a pair of tubes mounted between the ends of said links; a second pair of shafts mounted for rotation in said pair of tubes; a pair of crank arms extending from the ends of each of said second pair of shafts; a pair of discs secured to said housing; a pair of endless cables trained over said discs, and secured at one point thereon, and trained over said second pair df shafts, said discs and said second shafts having diameters of a predetermined ratio whereby the swinging of said links and said second shafts through a predetermined arc in one direction is effective to rotate said second shafts and swing said crank arms through a predetermined arc in the other direction, and whereby the ends of said crank arms distant from said second shafts translate in a vertical direction; a pair of vertical arms pivotally mounted at their lower ends on said crank arms for vertical movement; and a platform mounted on the upper ends of said vertical arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 757,807 Hazard Apr. 19, 1904 893,031 Stone July 14, 1908 1,505,645 Isaacs Aug. 19, 1924 1,890,361 Bealtie Dec. 6, 1932 2,023,410 Davis et a1. Dec. 10, 1935 2,278,817 Zeindler Apr. 7, 1942 2,301,579 Plant et al Nov. 10, 1942 2,590,617 Henderson et a1. Mar. 25, 1952 

